Army & Navy: Rank Magic

Bald, good-natured Rear Admiral Ralph
Davison,' assistant to the Navy's Bureau of Aeronautics, had got as far
as Albuquerque (on an airline trip from Washington to Los Angeles) when
a noncommissioned ferry pilot asked for a seat. Under the priority
system (which Ralph Davison helped to devise) the sergeant could
displace anybody but White House personnel. Admiral Davison stepped
out, grinning, waited for the next plane.